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Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of Innovations Theory The Diffusion of Innovations theory surrounds research that attempts to understand the how, when and why users adopt or reject new technology, ideas and services. The theory examines the factors that impact a users decision to adopt or reject an innovation and chronicles the rate at which innovations diffusion through social systems. History Diffusion of Innovations theory is built on the bones of research conducted by Gabriel Tarde. Tarde was a French sociologist who studied how human interaction impacts innovation and imitation. This researched laid the groundwork for many concepts that would later be applied to diffusion of innovations theory such as opinion leaders, use of S Curve and the interpersonal influence of adoption. Bryce Ryan & Neal C. Gross Ryan and Gross offered the next step in the evolution of the theory with their work with Iowa State University. Here we see Ryan and Gross conduct what would be known as the Hybrid Corn Seed Study. A new type of corn seed had been developed that was capable of yielding 20% higher corn crops yet had taken twelve years to be adopted by farmers in Iowa. Confused at what was perceived to be a slow rate of diffusion for such a worth while innovation Ryan and Gross conducted interviews with several farmers to determine the reasoning behind their slow adoption rate. Through research they discovered that the adoption rate had been pushed along by farmers spreading knowledge of the new corn seed and it's benefits by word of mouth. This interpersonal communication was determined to be one of the most important factors in adoption. The work conducted in this study is still highly referenced by theorists and the method of using interviews and ideas on the importance of interpersonal communication in the diffusion of innovations is still widely accepted today. Everett Rogers Everett Rogers is the man behind the theory of diffusion of innovations. Coming from an agricultural background himself, Rogers was fascinated by the rate at which farmers adopted or rejected agricultural innovations. Building off the work of Ryan and Gross, Rogers crafted the theory in his book "Diffusion of Innovations". Here Rogers created the basis for our theory and was responsible for the categorization of adopters. Elements of Innovation Adoption There were four main factors that were attributed to influencing the adoption or rejection of an innovation. Innovation Regarding the innovation itself we must examine factors such as: *Relative advantage **What will it do for me *Complexity **How hard is the innovation to learn and use *Trialability **Can you try the innovation before you adopt *Compatibility **Will this new innovation fit into my life *Observability **Is the innovation present in your day to day life *Familiarity **How closely does it resemble already established products Communication Channels *Mass Communication or interpersonal Time *Innovation Decision Process :: Process through which an individual passes from first knowledge of an innovation to adoption and confirmation *Innovativeness :: degree to which an individual is more willing to adopt new ideas than other members of a system *Rate of Adoption :: relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system Social System *The factors of your social environment that impact adoption or rejection such as economics, government regulations, demographic, etc. Decision Making Process The decision making process is the various stages that one experiences from initial knowledge of an innovation to adoption/rejection and finally confirmation. Awareness *The initial stage of the decision making process where a user is first made aware of an innovation. Often through mass media Persuasion *Users here are effected by influences both internal and external to make a decision to either adopt or reject an innovation. Interpersonal communications have the strongest influence here. Decision *The user makes a decision to either adopt or reject an innovation. If rejected the cycle resets. If adopted the user moves forward integrating the innovation into their life. Implementation *The user now having adopted an innovation will begin to use the innovation in their life in an attempt to determine the usefulness of the innovation. Confirmation *The user now makes a decision as to whether the innovation has lived up to it's hype and will choose to either continue or terminate use of an innovation. Adopter Categories Adopters are broken down into five categories. These categories chart the rate at which innovations are adopted by users. Innovators 2.5% *The first to adopt an innovation. These people are risk takers. Early Adopters 13.5% *The second wave of adopters. These people are opinion leaders Early Majority 34% *These adopters are more cautious than previous categories but are still considered opinion leaders. Late Majority 34% *These adopters tend to accept innovations once they reach critical mass and are proven. Laggards 16% *The last to adopt an innovation. They are highly skeptical and often older users. Consequences and Theory Critiques Innovations are supposed to improve our lives. While it is their goal to make our lives easier, more efficient or more convenient they sometimes have adverse effects. Innovation's occasionally backfire and we see boomerang effects. Here we see an innovation causing the opposite effect of it's intentions. For example we see social media as a new form of communication that is supposed to foster communication between people and bring them closer together. Some studies indicate that social media is having quite the opposite effect by driving a wedge between people and serving as the cause of several divorces and breaking apart relationships. We can also see a tendency of technology to spread too fast. This inevitably leaves some users behind causing confusion and dysfunctional feedback loops which leaves many users disillusioned about an innovation. Furthermore, the limitations some users have such as finances or ability to get their hands on an innovation can limit their ability to adopt even if they are willing adopters. This can help to create or perpetuate inequalities amongst groups of people. Diffusion of Innovation theory has come under fire from some researchers regarding it's pro innovation bias. This is a mindset that innovations are inherently good and should be adopted by people. This does not take into account an individual user and what their preferences or limitations may be. There is also a tendency for individual blame bias which takes the stance that failure to adopt is due to a shortcoming within the adopter and again does not factor in the reasoning behind non-adoption. The theory has also been scrutinized for having a limited scope of research as interviews are the primary method of research and many are calling for more in-depth interviewing of subjects and observation amongst other things. Diffusion of innovations also seems to take a stance of the wide spread adoption of an innovation being a cookie cutter and not accounting for local cultures or customs that the innovation may not easily be integrated into.